By Sam McBride
Today,November 13th, 2012, is the 70th anniversary of the death of Captain Frederic Thornton “Fritz” Peters, VC, DSO, DSC and bar, DSC (U.S.), RN.
The tragic irony was that he miraculously survived the action in the harbour of Oran, Algeria and hundreds of other close calls in a life of battle and adventure, only to die as a passenger when the flying boat transporting him back to England to report on the Oran mission to Winston Churchill encountered horrific weather and crashed in heavy fog in Plymouth Sound, just a short distance from its destination.
All five passengers were killed, but each of the 11 crew survived, though several were seriously injured. Because of secrecy requirements at the time, the Royal Australian Air Force crew manning the flying boat never knew the names of the passengers who died, except that one passenger – the man pilot Wynton Thorpe found to be conscious in the water and valiantly tried to carry while swimming to safety – was “a Naval captain who won the Victoria Cross”.
The crash was well-known in the Australian air force community for many years, and Thorpe’s family donated his life jacket from the crash night to the Australian War Memorial after his death in 2008. The wreckage of the Sunderland flying boat was discovered by a Plymouth diver in 1985, and two years later the propeller went on display at an air force museum in Perth, Australia.
In 2010 I noticed the life jacket come up in an Internet search, and I contacted the Australian War Memorial web site to advise them that the “Naval captain” mentioned in their records was indeed Capt. F.T. “Fritz” Peters. But the information from my records only had the names of Fritz Peters and Brigadier Frank Vogel, who was a British officer serving on the staff of General Eisenhower.
Recently, the following list of passengers killed on the flight surfaced in the “Submerged” web site that provides details of the discovery and recovery of wreckage of the flying boat crash. I do not yet have details of the source of the list, but if it pans out it is an important addition to what we know about the flight and its tragic end.
The list of passengers is presented below, as per the original. Note that Fritz Peters is listed as “R.N. Peters”, an error likely based on the “Royal Navy” initials after his name.
Royal Army Brigadier F.W. Vogel, killed
Royal Navy Captain G.W. Wadham, killed
Royal Navy Captain R.N. Peters, killed
Royal Navy Commander R.R. Devlin, killed
RAF Sgt R.E. Cordrey (Ait Gunner), killed
thebravestcanadian 
Mar 06, 2013 @ 15:05:06
My Great-Uncle was also killed in this crash, RN Captain Geoffrey Wyndham Wadham, Chief Staff Officer at HMS St. Angelo, Malta.
Mar 06, 2013 @ 16:49:03
Very interesting. Defending Malta would have been rough business. I wonder if he knew Peters. Did you know about the recovery of the propellor of the flying boat? The Australian crew never knew the identity of any of the passengers because of secrecy of the time.
Mar 06, 2013 @ 20:31:49
I saw the article regarding the recovery of wreckage by the team and transported back to Australia. What I’ve assumed is that the passengers were part of the planning team or representatives of the particular factions of the operation. Not sure…
Apr 27, 2013 @ 20:23:18
Mark: Sorry to be slow in responding. Was the body of your greatuncle Capt. Wadham recovered? Have you heard of other bodies of passengers recovered? The body of Fritz Peters disappeared, even though he seems to have had a life jacket on. They did get waterlogged after a certain time in the water. Do you know if there was a ceremony on a ship in Plymouth Sound commemorating the dead passengers?
Apr 29, 2013 @ 09:45:41
I’m not sure what the epitaph actually infers, “Lost at Sea” (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56708731)
On this comment, it mentions recovery of bodies (http://www.submerged.co.uk/sunderlandflyingboats.php#comment-52506), but not how many.
I’m not aware of any ceremony probably due to the nature and secrecy of the passengers, no service was granted. I believe that the passengers were in the Ward Room when the accident occurred, and the plane flipped and split into two on impact.
I suspect that the life jackets had a limited time and due to the weight of the owner, jackets etc, the weight increased and dragged them down. Apparently Captain Peters was still alive (http://www.submerged.co.uk/capt-frederick-thornton-peters-vc.php) but after an hour the pilot realised that he had died.
Jul 20, 2013 @ 10:39:55
I am a great niece of geoffrey wadham. His wife , Bertha (baby) was my great aunt .How do I contact you.
Jul 20, 2013 @ 17:18:02
Great to hear from you. Email me at BravestCanadian@shaw.ca. I heard from a great-nephew Mark that Wadham had been serving in Malta. Is that right?
Jul 21, 2013 @ 05:42:49
Hello Mary, glad to get in contact, perhaps contact the email below with your contact details and they may be passed on and vice-versa.
Hope to catch-up soon,
Mark.
Jan 09, 2014 @ 01:31:25
Just in passing interest Brigadier Vogel’s widow, Julia Jean, died on december 212013, requiem mass at Brompton oratory 22 jan 2014. She subsequently remarried prof Colonel Draper, an expert in the laws of war.
Jan 18, 2014 @ 03:01:53
I am very interested to hear that the Brigadier`s widow has died, and that she re-married Colonel Draper. Amazing that she outlived her previous husband by more than 71 years. My grandmother heard on a CBC radio report on Nov. 17, 1942 that a Captain T.F. Peters of the Royal Navy had died in an air crash. She contacted the local newspaper, who made inquiries to the Associated Press. A couple of days later, a telegram arrived advising that F.T. Peters was missing and presumed dead in Plymouth Sound. I would be interested to hear when Mrs. Vogel was advised. They were very slow to advise next of kin in that era (compared to today), but still much faster than the WW1. It took 13 months for the death of Peters` brother Private Jack Peters in April 1915 to be confirmed, and about 4 weeks for the death of Lieut. Gerald Peters In June 1916 to be confirmed.